New Casting

The first morning back, early, news of events that had transpired in our absence, starting flowing into our temporary, overnight camp.

Chayo took us through a major info offload. The situation with regards to the bogus parcels littering the area required a long, detailed blow-by-blow of the ongoing scam...or better yet - swindle. Although, it's hard to say just who's being had.

Ernesto, our dentist partner, by e-mail, had alerted us to new movements, these mostly directed against us. Our rancho and us. Chayo filled in all the blanks.

"Gutierrez." That's the name of the new player who's jumped, with both feet, into the morass. He'd snapped up all the parcels from their south terminus all the way to, and including, San Cosme and Alejo's ranchito. He's in the process of buying up all those on the Rancho, El Carrizalito, too. He's now the proud owner of something like 20 of simply these (he's almost 40 in total). All of this supposedly with the aid of American backers. According to Chayo he showed up regularly with gaggles of this breed in tow.

My informant described how furious this new guy became because of our locked gate. He called Chayo a number of nasty names, threatened to have him arrested if he didn't turn over the key, that he was going to toss him in jail! And when that failed he offered to buy him off, getting mad again when this strategy fell flat.

Thinking that he was going to force his way in other areas he made plans to start forms of development in the area of the salt lagoon directly behind Playa San Cosme. When the parcels there had been unofficially surveyed, they'd divided up that live estuary, putting their markers on the strip of salt flat that separates this zone from the sea.

Almost immediately, because of Chayo's tip, an official from PROFEPA, the arm of the government responsible in regards to the environment, informed this character that he'd better forget his grand plans. A good portion of those parcel lengths was stretched across federal tide-zone land. Belatedly this hot-shot found out that those parcels tail ends lay in a disputed area, the family Quijano claiming that turf as their long held Rancho Palo Blanco. (He should have read my story "Parcels" before he took his leap.)

So although there's been some changes in casting, the fight to save this place from certain destruction is still on. And, best as we can, we'll try and keep ya posted.

Email: david@dondavidonbaja.com